Yet that religious foothold in the state does not manifest itself in the selection of car tags. Given the choice between the secular "Sweet Home Alabama" tag and the more godly "God Bless America" tag, Alabamians choose the Sweet Home tag by a lot.

In the online community, many people quickly reacted. Some explained their preference in tag mottos, while others shouted out favorites other than the top two, and finally more than a few professed surprise they even had a choice. Read some of what people are saying

• "I chose the God Bless tag mainly because I dont think the beach scene accurately represents the whole state, I mean we have what 20 miles of coastline. Should have stuck with Heart of Dixie and the state flag IMHO. But don't let me get in the way of the trampling hordes of travel agents trying to promote 1 county out of 67." -- Jack Karohack

• "I'm patriotic and hang a small flag in my car. But I find the Sweet Home Alabama design to be more pleasing than the God Bless America design, which appears faded and bland imho.

"I'd prefer a heart of dixie design to be a "free" option. But I went with the Cahaba river one. I'm not a tree hugger, but I've waded out to see the flowers, and the color goes well with my vehicle. By the way, if you are going to pony up for one of the specialty tags- collegiate or otherwise, you might as well make it a vanity plate. There's no extra charge since you're already paying an upcharge. I guess some politician may read this post and decide there needs to be." -- phrasedeyebrow

• "We have 4 cars in our household and were never asked on any of them which tag we wanted, just got the one they gave us. So that's 3 Sweet Home Alabama and 1 God Bless America. We're fine either way, just odd, never thought about it before this article, that people have been asked and have chosen" -- Alamomof4

• "I don't think there is any political or theological message here at all. The Sweet Home Alabama tag is just more attractive, so people want it more than the generic looking flag design." -- TourBus

• "I chose the Sweet Home Alabama tag simply because I like having my county number, 3A in my case, on my tag." -- libertarian4